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Your horse’s dental records – Is it MIA or up-to date?

Whether you own a performance horse or your best friend is a pasture ornament, dental health is important to all horses, young and old, big and small.  A horse, which has had regular skilled dental care in its youth, is much less likely to develop significant problems in its golden years. 

A complete oral exam is best performed using a mouth speculum, which pries the horse’s mouth open such that the entire mouth can be visualized as well as palpated.  In order to do this safely and completely, sedation is often necessary.  Many times dental correction is performed at the same time in order to maximize the sedation.  “Floating” your horse’s teeth does not necessarily address dental problems such as “waves,” “steps,” or  “ramps,” which result in one arcade becoming too worn down and the opposite arcade being too tall. 

Unlike other mammals, the horse has hypsodont teeth, which are exceptionally long teeth that gradually erupt from the jawbone as the chewing surface gets worn down over time.  Under normal circumstances, the tooth erupts at about 3 mm per year, which equates to the horse’s teeth lasting about 25 years under ideal circumstances.   Horses of today are out-living their teeth and as the grinding ability of their teeth is lost over time, they must rely on diets other than forage to maintain the good body condition.

Sharp points develop because the horse’s lower jaw is narrower than the upper jaw.  As a result of this, parts of the chewing surface are not worn down and sharp points develop.  Sharp points tend to develop faster in horses that are fed hay/grain diets as opposed to horses grazing on pasture the majority of the time.  The upper sharp points often cut the gums and the lower sharp points can cut the tongue resulting in a sore mouth.  It is not uncommon for yearlings, which still have razor sharp baby teeth, to have lacerations on both their gums and tongue.  A more sensitive adult horse may be reluctant to eat in order to avoid pain in its mouth.  More often than not, the older horse appears to be consuming a normal amount of feed but is losing weight because the feed is not being processed properly. 

Annual dental exams starting at one year of age are not just about identifying and removing sharp points.  Congenital anomalies can be identified in the neonate. By one year of age, all of the baby teeth should have erupted.  During the ages of 2-4, much is happening in the horse’s mouth.  Most of the baby teeth are being replaced with permanent teeth.  Eruption of permanent teeth can be painful and result in changes in behavior.  A retained cap is a left over baby tooth that covers the permanent tooth below.  Although most common in the geriatric horse, horses at any age can develop gum disease, tooth root abscesses, fractured or loose teeth.   Early intervention and/or correction may minimize dental problems during adulthood. 

Regular dental care helps prolong the life of your horse. 

Last modified: 12/30/09